Inflammation
is a natural process by which our bodies bring certain cells in to an area that
has become damaged, in order to effect repairs.These cells include macrophages, fibroblasts, and others.

Some
inflammation is definitely beneficial.It occurs in at least two situations, in all cases:

1. Any time
tissue damage has occurred inflammation must occur for healing to occur
normally.

2. During what
is called a retracing, healing reaction, purification reaction or
flare-up.These occur during a
nutritional balancing program, but not in most other situations.For much more about this interesting
phenomenon, please read Retracing on this website.

Unfortunately,
today, many people have another situation that is not healthful.This is a type of chronic inflammation
that does not lead to healing.This type is due to nutritional deficiencies or the presence of certain
toxins in the body, as explained later in this article.

Many health
authorities are in agreement that this type of chronic inflammation is a
serious problem in millions of people worldwide.Yet the medical profession offers little for all these people
except for highly toxic anti-inflammatory drugs, for the most part.

In contrast,
nutritional balancing science usually stops this type of inflammation at the
deepest levels easily and often within a few months to a few years.Let us begin with the symptoms of
inflammation, which are many more than one might imagine.

SYMPTOMS OF INFLAMMATION

Inflammation and the stress theory of
disease.Inflammation is not just tissue
irritation.In the stress theory
of disease, inflammation is an early stage of the stress response.When nutrition is imperfect or the body
is toxic, however, it can easily become caught in this phase of the stress
response, giving rise to hundreds of symptoms.

You may be
surprised at some of the diseases and conditions that are caused by or closely
related to inflammation in the body.Among the most common ones are cancers, cysts and tumors, diabetes, most
heart disease, arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis, back pain, bronchitis,
cataracts, glaucoma, emphysema, indigestion, and in fact any illness that ends
with the suffix –itis.Others can include obesity, edema,
canker sores, high blood pressure, headaches, stomach ache, itchy skin,
neuritis, prostate enlargement, sinusitis, tinnitus, and most aches and pains.

This does
not mean that every case of the above is due entirely to inflammation.However, it means that many cases are
at least partially due to this cause.It is no wonder that pain medications, blood pressure medication, and
others that reduce or control inflammation in various ways are among the most
popular drugs today.

BASIC BIOCHEMICAL CAUSES OF INFLAMMATION

While
doctors often discuss mechanical and other biochemical causes of inflammation,
two causes that are rarely discussed are:

1. The presence of the “amigos”, or
specific minerals in a biounavailable form, usually
oxides.The minerals are manganese, aluminum,
iron, chromium, selenium, nickel, and sometimes copper, calcium, magnesium,
boron and even lithium and others.These cause oxidant damage to all body tissues, potentially, which
causes a type of inflammation.

This cause
of inflammation is revealed on a hair mineral analysis by either elevated or
very low levels of aluminum, iron and manganese, primarily.The other minerals that may become
“amigos” or oxides may also be elevated or very low.As with all the indicators on the test, they can be mild,
moderate or extreme, and there can more “amigos” or fewer of them present.To read more about this interesting
biochemical abnormality, read Iron, Manganese
and Aluminum – The Amigos on this website.

2. An imbalance between the amounts and
types of pro-inflammatory versus anti-inflammatory hormones in the body.The pro-inflammatory hormones include aldosterone and adrenalin or epinephrine, along with other
hormones that include dopamine, estrogens, for example.The anti-inflammatory hormones include
cortisone and cortisol, testosterone and perhaps
others.

This cause
of inflammation often, but not always shows up on a hair mineral analysis as a
sodium-to-potassium ratio greater than about 4.If it is extreme, the ratio may become as high as 50 or
greater.Also, if it is extreme,
the calcium-to-magnesium ratio may also be above about 9.5.To read more about this pattern, read High Sodium/Potassium Ratio on this site.

3. An early stage of stress called fast
oxidation or the alarm stage of stress.In this situation, the body is in a fight-or-flight “mode of
operation” too much or too often.This tends to cause higher levels of certain hormones and other
chemicals such as histamine that result in more inflammation in the body and
the brain.

This cause
of inflammation shows up as a fast oxidation rate.Dr. Paul Eck defined this on a properly performed hair
mineral analysis as a calcium-to-potassium ratio greater than 4, and a
sodium-to-magnesium ratio less than 4.17.The ratios can indicate mild, moderate or extreme fast oxidation, and
the degree of inflammation often correlates well with the ratios.To read more about it, read The Oxidation Types on this site.

4. A particular type of stress pattern
called a secondary alarm reaction, or secondary stress response of the body.

This pattern
is also called in acupuncture yang rising, and it manifests on a hair mineral
analysis as a three highs or
four highs pattern.This
means that three or four of the macrominerals
(calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium) are above their ideal levels.

This cause
of inflammation is somewhat similar to fast oxidation, but in some ways is
worse, while in others it is not as bad.However, it can definitely worsen inflammation and must be removed to
reduce inflammation in these cases.To read more about it, read Four
Highs Pattern and Three Highs Pattern on
this site.

5. Very slow oxidation with a calcium
shell.In this curious situation, calcium
precipitates out of the blood because of low levels of the solvent minerals,
sodium and potassium.Calcium then
precipitates in the soft tissues such as the joints, the arteries, the liver
and elsewhere.One effect is inflammation
from mechanical irritation.

Also, the
calcium is in a biounavailable form and cannot
neutralize acids in the body very well.To read more about this cause of inflammation, read The Calcium Shell Pattern on this website.

6. An excessively acidic pH at the
cellular level or the intra-cellular level.This cause of inflammation is extremely common today.Its basic cause is a deficiency of what
are called the
alkaline reserve minerals.These include common trace minerals such as zinc, copper, manganese,
chromium and others.These are
replaced by toxic metals, most of which, or perhaps all of which, have an
acidic effect upon body chemistry.

An overly
acidic pH may also be caused by an improper diet.Food that contribute to this are acid-forming foods such as
grains, meats, dried beans and sugars.This is all too common today in Western nations, and indeed, around the
world.

Sadly,
fruit-eating may also cause this type of inflammation, and in fact always does
so.Fruit acids are quite harmful
and make this food less suitable for human consumption at this time.Unfortunately, fruits are much lower in
the alkaline reserve minerals than are vegetables, the main alkaline-forming
food in our diets.This is the main
reason why nutritional balancing insists upon a diet of cooked vegetables three
times daily, with no exceptions.To read more about this important topic, read the articles Carbohydrate Addiction, Acid-Base
Balancing, Fruit-Eating and Raw Food on this website.

7. Excessive tissue catabolism for any
reason. This is also a very common occurrence
today, unfortunately.Its causes
are many, but mainly nutritional or other types of stress on the body such as
worry, fatigue, lack of rest and others.

As the body
is unable to maintain key organs and tissues in proper maintenance,
inflammation often arises.A very
common example is the breakdown of the slippery, smooth cartilage that coats
all the major joints.As this
becomes roughened, each time the joint moves, it causes mechanical irritation
to the joint.The smooth inner
lining of the arteries, and indeed other areas of the arteries, can also be
disrepair and a state of breakdown due to deficiencies of omega-3 fatty acids
and other nutrients, and the constant flexing of these arteries also causes
mechanical irritation that worsens the situation.This can lead to the buildup of plaque in the arteries, for
example.

The tendency
for excess tissue catabolism shows up on a hair mineral analysis as a sodium-to-potassium
ratio less than 2.5.It is
considered extreme if the ratio is less than about 1.It is also more extreme if, with the low sodium-to-potassium
ratio, the calcium-to-magnesium ratio is less than about 3.To read more about this, read Low Sodium/Potassium Ratio and Double Low Ratio Pattern on this site.

8. The presence of certain infections.While some doctors believe that
infection is the opposite of inflammation, and they are correct, at times,
other infections directly or indirectly cause inflammation in the body.Many of these are hidden and may
produce few symptoms besides inflammation.Most people have some of them.

Well-known
examples of this type of infection include candidaalbicans and amoebic infection of the intestinal tract,
some infections of the joints, infection in the walls of the arteries,
infection of the bronchials and lungs, and others.

The
infection may cause mechanical irritation, or give rise to toxins called endotoxins and exotoxins that are
the direct cause of inflammation.The infection might also cause coughing, for example, that leads to
irritation of the bronchial passages.Other infections cause tissue breakdown, discussed above.Others may cause inflammation by
affecting the pH of the tissues, such as might occur with an infection with candidaalbicans in the
intestines.

A general
tendency for infection in the body is indicated on a properly performed hair
mineral analysis by a sodium-to-potassium ratio less than about 2, with a lower
ratio indicating more of them, generally.Other mineral analysis indicators include elevated copper, hidden copper
imbalance, low zinc, low phosphorus, elevated mercury and others.To read more about this, read Boosting The Immune Response on this website.

9. Simple Dietary Mistakes.Improper diet can be the main cause of
inflammation.Examples of foods
that cause or contribute to excessive inflammation in the body are drinking
coffee, especially more than one cup daily, but even one cup of coffee in some
cases.Others are too much table
salt, eating very spicy food, eating the nightshade family of vegetables
(potato, tomato, eggplant and all peppers), food chemicals such as MSG
(monosodium glutamate), aspartame and many others, using caffeine in any form,
eating fried foods in some cases, especially if the oils are slightly rancid or
overheated, eating trans-fatty acids, eating fruit, eating sweets of any kind,
drinking too much juice of any kind, drinking alcohol, and even eating too many
carbohydrates such as bread or pastries.

Other
important and common dietary mistakes are eating too much raw food, not eating
enough cooked vegetables, vegetarian diets that are all deficient in vital nutrients,
in my experience, eating fish and seafood that are generally contaminated with
toxic metals, and drinking the wrong type of water or not enough water.These mistakes are the subject of many
articles on this website, and quite easy to overcome with a little attention to
the diet.For an overview of a
healthful dietary approach, read The Slow Oxidizer
Diet on this website.For more
details on various food items, see the section of the Read Articles page of
this website that concerns Food And Diet.Click here to
find this section.

10. Simple Lifestyle Mistakes.These include not getting enough rest
and sleep, too much exercise or no exercise, unhealthful living habits such as
too much sex or casual sex that always leads to sexually transmitted diseases
that are difficult to identify, let alone cure.Others include fast-paced living, holding on to anger and
resentment, skipping meals, eating on the run, eating while driving,
overeating, and eating complicated food combinations that are difficult to
digest.

11. Exposure to toxins, including food
chemicals, prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs and others.Many, if not all toxic chemicals are
irritating to the body.This is
well known in medical circles, but most doctors – even holistic doctors
– do not ask enough questions about possible exposure to common toxins in
the food, air, water and through contact.

Simple
examples of common toxins most people are exposed to today are chlorine and
fluoride in tap water, other chemicals in some tap and well water, air
pollution in some areas, most prescription drugs, many over-the-counter
remedies, some skin care products such as hair dyes, makeup, lotions, and
soaps.Perfumes and other scents
used in cosmetic products can be extremely irritating to the body, as can food
chemicals such as artificial flavors, colors, preservatives and others.Some people are more sensitive than
others to all of these chemicals.

12. Nutritional and herbal supplements.Sadly, some nutritional supplements
definitely can cause or exacerbate inflammation in the body.Those most likely to do this include
bio-identical hormones such as DHEA and thyroid
hormones, minerals such as manganese and chromium in excess, and even vitamins
in excess such as B-complex, vitamin C and vitamin E. Herbs can also cause
inflammation in some cases.Even
some homeopathic remedies can increase inflammation.

I do not
suggest in any way that the government should restrict our access to
higher-dose vitamins and minerals.However, one must be careful and consider the possibility that too much
of a good thing can contribute to inflammation in some people.

13. A need for certain cleansing
procedures in the body.I find that in
some cases, inflammation will not resolve until a person cleans the colon
thoroughly, for example, and gets rid of often several pounds of old, impacted
fecal matter that is often harboring bacteria or parasites that just irritate
the body mechanically and chemically, day after day.For more on this topic, read Coffee
Enemas.

I also find
that sauna therapy can be extremely helpful to stop inflammation caused by
impaired circulation, congestion of the internal organs for various reason, and
an imbalanced autonomic nervous system.For more on this topic, read Sauna Therapy
on this website.

Another
procedure that is most helpful is chiropractic care by a competent chiropractor
or practicing osteopath.This is
necessary for most people, in fact.It does not mean one must go to the chiropractor every week.However, it means that periodic
chiropractic care is wonderful for most people.

Another,
very simple procedurethat helps
some inflammation is foot and perhaps hand reflexology.This ancient and simple system of
healing actually works better than most medical drugs and relieves certain
energetic blockages in the body.To
learn more about it, read Reflexology on this
site.

Finally, the
correct type of mental exercise, sometimes called meditation, is also wonderful
for some types of inflammation, especially that related to emotional and mental
stress of many kinds.For more on
this critical topic, read Meditation For Healing
on this website.

Below is
more detail about some of the causes of inflammation discussed above.

LIFESTYLE-RELATED CAUSES OF INFLAMMATION

Ending
inflammation is often just a matter of removing its cause.Too often, doctors overlook the simple
but important causes of inflammation in a person’s life.Among the most important lifestyle
considerations are:

Avoiding
toxic exposures. Most toxins are irritants.This includes smoke from any source, exposure to solvents,
pesticides, and thousands of other toxic substances.Therefore, to reduce inflammation, it makes sense to live,
eat, drink and be in contact only with uncontaminated air, food, water,
clothing and other objects in one’s environment.

This is not
that difficult to do for most people.It requires some attention to one’s drinking water and eating mostly
organic food.It also means
avoiding smoky and dirty environments, and taking precautions when one must
expose oneself to chemicals such as paints and others.

Sleep issues.The main one is not enough sleep.Most people need 8 or more hours of
actual sleep, no just lying in bed, every single night.Another problem is going to bed too
late.Most people need to be in
bed by 9 PM to fully regenerate their body each night.Otherwise, tissue breakdown is not
fully repaired and irritation and inflammation is often one result.

Dehydration.This is extremely common, in my experience.Causes for dehydration include:

ŠNot drinking enough water.Most adults need about 3 quarts every day and more if you do
outdoor or physical labor,

ŠDrinking water that does not properly hydrate the body.This is usually due to drinking reverse
osmosis or RO water that does not seem to hydrate the body well.

ŠDrinking RO or
distilled water drunk for more than a few months can also demineralize
the body and cause inflammation.

ŠEngaging in
habits that dehydrate the body.These
include drinking alcohol of any kind, eating sugars, even too much fruit and
fruit juices, and ingesting caffeine in any form.

Exercise habits. Too much
exercise can wear down the body and stress the joints, tendons and
ligaments.No exercise may also
stress the body and even interfere with respiration, oxygenation and
circulation.

Low oxygenation.Low levels of oxygen found in most
cities where auto traffic is high, and in some indoor environments, is
irritating and stimulating to the body in harmful ways.

Thinking and emotional habits.This may sound odd, but some people
indulge in intense drama, rage, anger, intense emotional upset, intense guilt
feelings or other thinking patterns that are inflammatory.These can influence body chemistry if
done for a while in an intense manner.

Another very
inflammatory personality type is called ‘type A’.These people are very hard driving, hard working, and
somewhat intense people.If you
are this way, be sure to rest more and learn to relax to keep yourself
balanced, as otherwise this personality type is very prone to inflammatory
cardiovascular, joint and other diseases.

Relationships and other social causes.Arguing, fighting, nasty surprises in
business or personal relationships, backbiting, gossiping and other harmful
social and relationship behaviors can often easily affect your body.Get help and make the changes needed so
that you can remain relaxed, calm and centered most of your day and night.

DIETARY CAUSES FOR INFLAMMATION

Our
diets must contain plenty of anti-inflammatory nutrients, and as few as
possible of the pro-inflammatory substances that commonly found in foods.These are explained below in more
detail.

Eating wheat in
any form, except for wheat grass juice.Wheat unfortunately is a very hybridized food today.It has a much lower zinc content, less
protein and more glutamic acid, an inflammatory amino
acid.This combines to make wheat
quite an irritating food, and one best avoided by everyone.This even includes organic, whole wheat
and spelt in most cases.

Eating sugars
and sweets of any kind.This includes natural sugars such as all fruit, maple syrup, honey,
agave nectar, and fruit or other sweet juices and other beverages.Sugars tend to upset the blood sugar,
upset calcium metabolism, deplete B vitamins and have many other
pro-inflammatory effects.

Drinking
alcohol in any form.Alcohol
depletes zinc and magnesium, two very important anti-inflammatory
nutrients.It also depletes some B
vitamins and perhaps other trace minerals.Alcohol also inflames the tissues because it is a physical
irritant to the body tissues.Almost all alcoholic beverages also contain pesticide residues and other
irritating chemicals.The worst,
sadly, if usually wine.

Caffeine and
other stimulants.Coffees,
especially more than one cup of coffee daily, is quite irritating to the
stomach and perhaps other parts of the body.Even caffeinated teas and herbs such as maca
are quite irritating.

Chocolate
contains a caffeine-like substance called theobromine.Some herbs such as guarana
and in fact, many herbs such as ginseng and others can be irritating,
especially if used incorrectly or used for an extended period of time.

Not enough
cooked vegetables.Vegetables
contain many anti-inflammatory nutrients including minerals, vitamins and
others.Most people do not eat
nearly enough cooked vegetables each day.

Pasteurized,
homogenized and otherwise cooked cheese, milk and other dairy products.Dairy products contain some omega-3
fatty acids, which are anti-inflammatory.However, if the dairy product is pasteurized and homogenized, and worse
– baked, fried, or even just heated more, any omega-3 fatty acids are
usually destroyed.Unfortunately,
these are the dairy products most people eat every day.Then they wonder why they develop
arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.

Dairy
products should be eaten raw, if possible, and the cows or other animals should
be free range and grass fed, not grain fed, so their milk is higher in omega-3
fatty acids.These products also
supply plenty of vitamin D3, a powerful anti-inflammatory nutrient.

Too much red
meat.Red meats are high in
iron.While we all need some iron,
too much is highly inflammatory.Most people need red meat only about twice to three times weekly.An exception is menstruating women who
are losing a lot of iron each month.Ideally, meats should be grass fed (pasture-fed) and not grain fed,
ideally.The grass fed meat
contains much more omega-3 fatty acids.

Food chemicals and additives.Many of these such as MSG,
aspartame, food colors, preservatives and others are quite irritating.

The nightshade family of
vegetables.These
include tomatoes, red and white, and other potatoes, but not sweet potatoes,
all peppers (both sweet and hot peppers) and eggplant.

Raw foods
are often irritating to the digestive tract for many people, especially those
with digestive disturbances.The
exception is raw milk, raw cream, raw cheeses and raw yogurt or kefirs.However, other raw foods are often
irritating because they contain fiber that is difficult to digest, and they
often contain infective organisms, parasites and other things that are
irritating to the body.This is an
important reason I advocate cooking food, except for raw dairy and 10-12 ounces
of carrot juice daily.

Common table
salt is an irritant.Sea salt
if far better and usually okay.

Iron-enriched foods.These are mainly white flour
and perhaps other refined foods often have added iron.Iron can be extremely irritating to the
body.

Chlorinated and fluoridated water.These poisons are also highly
irritating to human tissues and the human digestive tract.

Less
commonly, other foods are irritating for some people.These include garlic, onions, radishes and perhaps
others.Foods that are heavily
sprayed with pesticides may also cause significant irritation in susceptible
individuals.

Fish,
especially tuna,
salmon, shellfish and seafood, are somewhat irritating today in most cases
due to their high mercury content.This accounts for some cases of so-called food poisoning from these
foods.

Sardines,
however, are high in omega-3 fatty acids and have some vitamin D3 and other
superb anti-inflammatory substances as iodine.Meanwhile, they are quite low in mercury and other
pro-inflammatory toxic metals.

Vegetarian diets.Most vegetarian diets are low in a
number of anti-inflammatory nutrients including calcium, magnesium, zinc,
omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D3.These are very difficult to obtain in large quantity, especially with a
vegan diet.If one is willing to
eat raw dairy products and eggs, this is much less of a problem.However, meats are one of the few good
sources of zinc, as well as other essential anti-inflammatory nutrients such as
taurine.

Skipping
breakfast and other poor eating habits.This can add significant stress to the body.The body may literally go into a
fight-or-flight reaction due to hunger in these cases.Regular, quiet, sit down meals, and
eating slowly, chewing thoroughly and resting for at least 10-20 minutes after
the meal is soothing for the digestive system and the body as a whole.

Other
practices to avoid are eating or drinking very hot or very cold foods or beverages,
drinking a lot of water or other beverages with meals, and getting upset at
mealtime.Wait to eat if you are
very anxious or upset.Avoid noisy
restaurants or upsetting conversation at mealtime for best digestion.

A diet low in
food anti-oxidants.An
important cause of inflammation in the body is damage from free radicals or
singlet oxygen atoms.This is also
called oxidant damage.Many foods
contain substances that counteract this damage to some degree.Such substances are called
anti-oxidants.Hundreds of them
exist.Cooked vegetables, in
particular, contain hundreds of others such as flavinoids,
xanthines, colors found in red, orange, yellow, blue
and green foods, in particular, and many others.Sadly, many people’s diets do not contain enough of these
substances, and this is one cause of inflammation.

NOTE: I do not recommend taking a
lot of anti-oxidant supplements, as some holistic practitioners may
recommend.I find it much better
to obtain your anti-oxidants from the diet.The main reason for this, besides the cost, is that so far,
all the anti-oxidant food supplements I have reviewed, which is over two dozen,
are very yin in Chinese medical terms.These make the body more yin, which is very harmful today.Even if these supplements reduce
inflammation, their yin effects make them harmful for overall health.Very small amounts are fine, such as a
little of vitamins A, C, E, zinc and selenium.Larger amounts are not good in almost all cases, especially
if continued for more than a month or so.

MEDICAL AND OVER-THE-COUNTER DRUGS

This
is a major source of inflammation in some people.The most commonly used ones are actually the non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs such as Tylenol, Aleve, Excedrin, Anacin and many
others.Even aspirin causes
stomach ulcers in some people.These drugs inhibit some inflammation, but they have other side effects
that are often worse.

Other
classes of drugs that can worsen inflammation include statin
drugs, thyroid medication, amphetamines, asthma drugs and many others.Always read the side effects if you
take any drug.Stop drugs that are
causing severe side effects and look for natural alternatives.Long-term use is worst.

Even
natural remedies, vitamins, minerals, and herbs can cause inflammation,
although these are much less commoon causes.For example, B-complex vitamins can
enhance the oxidation rate and cause irritation in a few people.High-dose manganese, potassium,
chromium, selenium, vitamin C and vitamin E, if taken for a prolonged period of
time, are irritating for some people because they can deplete other vital
nutrients in the body.This is why
I always seek to balance body chemistry using hair mineral testing, rather than
just give remedies that can make some people worse.

TOXIC METAL POISONING

This
is probably one of the major causes of inflammation today, especially in the
Western nations where the food is deficient in nutrients and the air, water and
food are often contaminated with toxic metals.

All
the toxic metals such as aluminum, mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, nickel and
a dozen others are highly inflammatory because they all damage human
tissue.They do this in many ways,
from impairing enzyme activity to mechanical and other types of damage.

Removing
one’s toxic metals with nutritional balancing science often reduces
inflammation rapidly.We do not
recommend chelation, including oral chelation.It
is not safe as it usually removes some vital minerals along with the toxic
metals.This includes the use of
natural substances such as chlorella, cilantro extract, high-dose vitamin C and
other natural forms of chelation.We find that if one balances the body
chemistry these methods are totally unnecessary in most cases, and harmful in
some cases.

TOXIC CHEMICALS IN THE ENVIRONMENT

Many
chemical toxins damage the body by causing inflammation of the lungs, the skin,
the liver and other organs.

A CASE HISTORY OF INFLAMMATION

Shirley,
age 52, is a real estate agent who had been to half a dozen doctors complaining
of severe arthritis and headaches.Somewhat sadly, it only took me about two minutes to review her basic
intake information, before I ever met her, to see why she had such a terrible
inflammation problem.Here were
the reasons:

ŠLifestyle: Shirley only slept 6 -7 hours per
night, exercised hard and pushed herself in her work.She would be called a type A personality by her own
description.

ŠDiet: Shirley was a vegetarian, and drank several cups of coffee
and green tea each day.She ate a
lot of wheat and tended to eat grilled cheese that had been pasteurized and
homogenized.She ate no fish, so
she got very little omega-3 fatty acids or vitamin D from her diet.She also skipped breakfast each day and
just had coffee with some sugar in it.She also ate out often at restaurants and ate a lot of prepared foods
that are high in table salt and often have irritating chemicals in them such as
MSG, Aspartane and hundreds of others.

ŠDrugs: Shirley was taking a synthetic thyroid replacement
hormone, even though her hair mineral analysis showed that her thyroid was
somewhat overactive.This is very
dangerous, by the way, but is a common finding.The article Thyroid Conditions
explains why the serum hormones can appear low in some of these cases.

ŠA hard driver or
triple inflammation pattern.Once I saw Shirley’s hair mineral analysis, it
revealed more reasons for inflammation.She had a severe inflammation pattern withfour high macrominerals, a high
sodium/potassium ratio, a high calcium/magnesium ratio, the beginning of a
calcium shell, a very low zinc, a very low phosphorus indicating poor digestion
and improper diet, and elevated aluminum, indicating the presence of the ‘three
amgos’ or ‘three oxidants’ – toxic compounds of
iron, manganese and aluminum.She
also had the ‘double 0’s’.This is
when the levels of toxic metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic or
nickel are extremely low, in the parts per billion range.Because most people at Shirley’s age
have plenty of these stored in their tissues, when the levels are very low, I
know that Shirley is having difficulty eliminating her toxic metals, which
means they are building up inside of her.

HAIR ANALYSIS INFLAMMATION INDICATORS

A
properly performed and properly interpreted hair mineral analysis is fabulous
to assess inflammation.It can
also sometimes detect biochemical causes of inflammation mentioned above.Here are the main indicators:

ŠA sodium/potassium ratio above about 5.

ŠA calcium/magnesium ratio above about 10, especially if
combined with a high sodium/potassium ratio.

ŠA four lows
pattern.

ŠA three highs
or four highs pattern.

ŠHigh levels of
any toxic metals, but particularly cadmium, lead, or nickel.

ŠA “hard driver”
pattern.This is a combination of
a three highs or four highs pattern, plus a high sodium/potassium ratio and a
high calcium/magnesium ratio.

ŠIron above 2
mg%, aluminum above 0.5 mg% or even less, or manganese above about 0.04
mg%.These are called the three amigos,
because if any one of them is present, most people have all three in
excess.These form oxides that
cause oxidant damage.

ŠElevated
copper or any indicator for a hidden copper imbalance often signifies
inflammation as well.

ŠAn elevated
chromium or selenium may also indicate the presence of excessive oxides that
cause oxidant damage.

ŠThe “vampire”
pattern (fast oxidation with an elevated sodium/potassium ratio, usually in a
woman but not necessarily).

Each of
these patterns can be more or less severe.In addition, many people show more than one of these
indicators.I often refer to such
a person as having a double inflammation pattern, or a triple inflammation pattern, for
example.

BLOOD TEST INFLAMMATION INDICATORS

Common
indicators are an elevated C-reactive protein.On blood tests, this is often abbreviated as CRP.Less reliable indicators are an
elevated cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, elevated iron, elevated blood
sugar above about 90 mg/dl, elevated white blood count, high uric acid, and
elevated liver enzymes such as AST, ALT, GGT, LDH or others.A high sedimentation rate might also indicate inflammation.This is sometimes abbreviated on blood
tests as eGFR.

Other
possible indicators are elevated thyroid hormones, low TSH,
high bilirubin, and blood or protein in the
urine.An abnormal urine pH is
also often indicative of some inflammation.

CORRECTION OF INFLAMMATION

Most
physicians falsely focus on giving anti-inflammatory drugs, while holistic and
naturopathic practitioners give a host of anti-inflammatory nutrients such as
fish oil, zinc and anti-oxidants to deal with inflammatory problems.This is better in some cases, but
rarely addresses the underlying causes of the problem.

In contrast,
a nutritional balancing program that is correctly designed will identify a
dozen causes of inflammation, and move the body chemistry away from these
patterns and back into healthier metabolic patterns.When this is done, inflammation usually goes away
permanently, without any need for remedies or drugs of any type.To read more about this method of
correction of inflammation, read Introduction
To Nutritional Balancing, and Nutritional
Balancing, A Universal Science.